Donald Trump 'Will Violate US Constitution On First Day Of Presidency' Due To Business Interests

Donald Trump
is on course to violate the US Constitution on day one of his
presidency after insisting he will not relinquish ownership of his
businesses while in office.

Donald Trump has faced questions over a potential conflict of interest
after refusing to hand over ownership of his businesses Getty

The Trump transition team responded by insisting no business matters had been discussed during the conversations

The US President-elect confirmed during a Fox News Sunday interview that he will hand the management of his companies to his children but will not give up ownership of the businesses.

Mr Trump said: “When I ran, everybody knew that I was a very big owner of real estate all over the world.”

“I’m not going to have anything to do with management of the company.”

Retaining ownership of his companies was not necessarily a conflict of interest, he added.

It means Mr Trump is likely to violate Article 1, Section 9 of the US
Constitution, which says no holder of public office can “without the
Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or
title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state”.

Mr Trump currently profits from foreign states through their use of his businesses.The
state-owned Bank of China is reportedly a tenant in Trump Tower, New
York, and the Bahraini Government last week held a reception at Trump
International Hotel in Washington D.C, where hiring a room can cost many thousands of dollars.

In addition to the new President profiting indirectly from foreign
governments using his businesses, sources have suggested overseas
countries will intentionally use Mr Trump’s hotels to curry favour with
the soon-to-be President - something that could be interpreted as
gift-giving.

One diplomat from an unnamed Asian country told the Washington Post:
“Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can
tell the new president, ‘I love your new hotel!’ Isn’t it rude to come
to his city and say, ‘I am staying at your competitor?”

Another diplomat from a Middle Eastern country added: ““Believe me, all the delegations will go there”.

One possible way around the constitutional regulation could be for
the President-elect to seek congressional approval to retain his
businesses and be provided with permission to profit from foreign
governments.

The rule is so strict that Barack Obama had to seek official advice
on whether he could legally accept the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.
Justice Department lawyers concluded that he could because the award is
privately funded - but that accepting it would have been forbidden had
it come from a foreign state.

Mr Trump has repeatedly come under fire over claims that retaining
ownership of his companies while serving as president constitutes a
major conflict of interest.

He has responded by saying his children will be managing the businesses and he is “not going to be doing deals at all”.

However, questions have been raised over the fact Mr Trump’s
daughter, Ivanka, has been closely involved in planning for the Trump
presidency while she is also in charge of the family's business empire.

Ms Trump was present at a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister,
Shinzo Abe, and during a phone conversation with Mauricio Macri, the
President of Argentina - both countries where the Trump family have
business interests.

The Trump transition team responded by insisting no business matters had been discussed during the conversations.

Donald Trump 'Will Violate US Constitution On First Day Of Presidency' Due To Business Interests
Reviewed by newsrepublique media
on
December 12, 2016
Rating: 5